The Law Blog had an interesting entry on January 26th about this green arrow.

This was taken over from the German Democratic Republic. It permits a driver to turn right if the coast is clear (no pedestrians crossing; give way to those ahead turning left). But it does not oblige you to turn right.

The Highway Code, the official publication with all the British driving rules, is online. Much to my surprise, it says:

bq. A GREEN ARROW may be provided in addition to the full green signal if movement in a certain direction is allowed before or after the full green phase. If the way is clear you may go but only in the direction shown by the arrow. You may do this whatever other lights may be showing. White light signals may be provided for trams.

No picture there, but I found one here:

It’s called a green filter. Did that come from the GDR? Apparently, it’s especially intended for cyclists.

ABC News Online reports that the U.S. State Department has forbidden its standard typeface, Courier New 12, from use in official correspondence:

bq. In an internal memorandum distributed on Wednesday, the department declared “Courier New 12” – the font and size decreed for US diplomatic documents for years – to be obsolete and unacceptable after February 1.

Times New Roman 14 is to be used, to make the texts easier to read (I hope they don’t use block justification). The memo says TNR offers a ‘more modern look’. More modern than Courier, yes.

Courier is kind to the printer, if not the eyes, and is the best font to scan and OCR – I am often grateful to lawyers’ conservatism when I scan documents to process – but Times is OK too.

bq. There are only three exceptions to the draconian new typographical rules: telegrams, treaty materials prepared by the State Department’s legal affairs office and documents drawn up for the president’s signature, it [the memo] said.

(Via Ben Hammersley)

The Independent reports today:

bq. First-time burglars and other petty criminals will be denied representation in court under government plans to cut the legal aid budget by up to £20m a year.

bq. A series of cost-cutting measures announced yesterday will re-focus legal aid on the more serious offences, ending some defendants’ right to be freely represented by a lawyer in the magistrates’ court.

I understand what they’re saying, but is it correct to describe all these people as ‘petty criminals’ before they’ve been found guilty? Did they wonder whether it would be too long-winded to be more careful?

Rephrasing is difficult, especially when it comes to ‘first-time burglars’, which seems to mean defendants charged with burglary for the first time.

A reporter for The Independent went out testing how much anti-social behaviour he could get away with now it is legal. Fixed-penalty notices (like Strafbefehle) of up to £100 can be issued for many acts, but the reporter, Josh Sims, came out of it unscathed.

bq. For this part of my day I am joined by a willing accomplice, who obliges me by delivering a real steamer. Despite my – and Fido’s – flagrant flouting of the law, his deposit scarcely raises an eyebrow around the park. Some passers-by even look away, presumably to afford my dog some privacy. Together, we walk away from the scene of the crime without attracting so much as an “excuse me”, and all this in contravention of the Litter (Animal Dropping) Order of 1991.

(Via UK Criminal Justice Weblog)

Danish prisons are not allowed to ask for identity papers with photographs on them when they admit prisoners. As a result, according to the Daily Telegraph, wealthy prisoners are paying impersonators to serve time for them. This is done in the period between conviction and start of sentence, which may be several months.
(Via UK Criminal Justice Weblog)

Spiegel online reports that Armin Meiwes (known as Armin M. in the German articles) has been convicted of voluntary manslaughter (Totschlag). He’s been sentenced to eight years and six months in prison. It was not murder because the court did not establish ‘niedrige Beweggründe’ (base motives) as required under German law.

The photo used (DPA) has a bit of a Neanderthal look about it. Meiwes usually looks better than that.

The German lawyers always suggest a judgment and sentence. The defence counsel suggested Tötung auf Verlangen (mercy killing at the request of the person killed); the prosecution said it was murder, carried out for sexual titillation.

This is a decision that is bound to be reported abroad too. Let’s look at the BBC News version.

bq. The defence had sought a verdict of illegal euthanasia, carrying a far shorter sentence of six months to five years, on the grounds that it had been a “killing on request”.
But while rejecting the defence’s argument, the court also ruled that Meiwes had had no “base motives” for the crime and settled on a manslaughter verdict, as Judge Volker Muetze told the packed courtroom.

I suppose most people will understand that it is voluntary, not involuntary, manslaughter involved, but still, translating Totschlag simply as manslaughter seems sloppy to me (I may be alone here). Euthanasia also omits the idea of the victim’s request, but that is added at the end of the sentence.

bq. The case could make legal history in a country which has no laws against cannibalism.

Aargh! I am so tired of reading that Germany has no laws against cannibalism. How many countries have?

bq. Dressed in a dark suit and tie, Meiwes sat impassively as the verdict was read out in court.

Ah, but was his lawyer wearing a white tie?

Now, The Independent (on the front page, the story is mysteriously listed under ‘UK News’).

bq. Prosecutors called Meiwes a “human butcher” who acted simply to “satisfy a sexual impulse” and had sought a life sentence for murder.
His defense argued that since the victim had volunteered to be killed and eaten, the crime should be classified a mercy killing, which carries a five-year maximum penalty.

I prefer ‘satisfy a sexual impulse’ (part of the German definition of murder) to the BBC’s ‘sexual murder’. But when did we British start spelling ‘defence’ with an S?

The Guardian presents an audio report. ‘ quite liked ‘killing on demand’. I don’t think anyone told the reporter how to pronounce ‘Meiwes’, which was coming over as ‘Mieweis’. The written report is somewhat similar to that of The Independent.

After consulting the New York Times, I abandoned the project, as I was getting the impression that all the reports were based on one account.